The present invention generally relates to a digital scanner for scanning images. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for accurately scanning documents and for processing digital data to provide digital images stored in memory, which can be retrieved for printing on support material or for displaying on a display screen. The present invention updates user settings based on the use of the digital scanner by an operator.
In a conventional digital scanner, a light source is used to illuminate a document having the image to be scanned. The conventional digital scanner also includes a platen glass upon which the document rests and a platen cover. The light emmitted by the light source illuminates the document and is reflected off and imaged by an optical system or lens system towards either a CCD sensor array or full width array, which converts the reflected light into electrical signals which are eventually converted into digital image data. An image processing circuit electronically registers the image, and converts the electrical signals into digital image data so that the digital image data can be utilized by an image output terminal, network citizen, or memory device.
In the prior art, a printer or other digital imaging system is typically coupled to a digital scanner for scanning an original image (e.g. document) and employs an initial step of charging a photoconductive member (photoreceptor) to a substantially uniform potential. The charged surface of the photoconductive member is thereafter exposed to a light image of an original document to selectively dissipate the charge thereon in selected areas irradiated by the light image. This procedure records an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductive member corresponding to the informational areas contained within the original document being reproduced. The latent image is then developed by bringing a developer including toner particles adhering triboelectrically to carrier granules into contact with the latent image. The toner particles are attracted away from the carrier granules to the latent image, forming a toner image on the photoconductive member, which is subsequently transferred to a copy sheet. The copy sheet having the toner image thereon is then advanced to a fusing station for permanently affixing the toner image to the copy sheet.
The approach utilized for multicolor electrostatographic printing is substantially identical to the process described above. However, rather than forming a single latent image on the photoconductive surface in order to reproduce an original document, as in the case of black and white printing, multiple latent images corresponding to color separations are sequentially recorded on the photoconductive surface. Each single color electrostatic latent image is developed with toner of a color complimentary thereto and the process is repeated for differently colored images with the respective toner of complimentary color. Thereafter, each single color toner image can be transferred to the copy sheet in superimposed registration with the prior toner image, creating a multi-layered toner image on the copy sheet. Finally, this multi-layered toner image is permanently affixed to the copy sheet in substantially conventional manner to form a finished copy.
There is a need to provide digital scanners to satisfy a wide variety of requirements based on customer environments (production equipment, office equipment, and home equipment). The traditional approach was to provide different versions of software for different customer environments to satisfy the customers"" various requirements. For example, in a production environment, image quality is considered very important and the operators (users) try to reproduce their pictorials as true to the original as possible. In this type of operating environment, the user interface might provide a magazine mode with weak background suppression and the tonal reproduction curve (TRC) would be a one-to-one TRC. In an office environment, the users frequently copy originals, which were printed by a laser printer. Therefore, these users are more concerned about the second side showing through the paper, background suppression and text quality. Therefore, a higher contrast TRC is used. Although prior art scanners can save manually inputted default settings, there is a need for a dynamic user interface to automatically update the digital scanner to meet various customer requirements.
A dynamic user interface for a digital scanner, comprising: means for receiving a scan image command, which includes image processing parameters; means for incrementing a scancount; means for scanning an image and storing image processing parameters; means for analyzing processing parameters after reaching a predetermined scancount to detect trends in image processing parameters; and means for remapping processing parameters based on the detected trends.
A method for updating image processing parameters comprising: receiving a scan image command, which includes image processing parameters; incrementing a scancount; scanning an image; storing image processing parameters; analyzing image processing parameters after reaching a predetermined scancount to detect trends in image processing parameters; and remap the image processing parameters based on the detected trends.